Kronic the Wedgehog
Kronic the Wedgehog (often nicknamed Kronic) was a series of robots that competed in Series 4-7 of Robot Wars. The original version reached the Heat Final in its debut appearance in Series 4 after helping to knock out the seeded Gravedigger, but its successors lost in the first round in Series 5 and the second in Series 6 and 7. However, Kronic 2 was notable for flipping former series champion Panic Attack over in its first round battle during Series 6 to be the last robot standing. The robot's name was a pun on the popular Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. Series 8 champion Apollo is modelled upon the most recent version of Kronic the Wedgehog, and was built by Kronic's most recent owners, Team MAD. Versions of Kronic the Wedgehog All versions of Kronic the Wedgehog shared the same colour scheme of blue, red and yellow, with yellow top-mounted spikes and an angry face printed on the front lifter/flipper, known as the 'Kronic face'. Kronic the Wedgehog (Series 4) The original version of Kronic the Wedgehog was built in a greenhouse, a fact reflected in the team covering the top spikes with flowerpots. It was a tall box-wedge shaped robot powered by two Sinclair C5 motors giving it a top speed of 10 mph, and armoured in polycarbonate. Kronic the Wedgehog's weapons were a front lifter and a rear-mounted spike. The metal part sticking out of Kronic's face was the ram pivot. Strangely, bubble wrap was used in the body. Kronic 2 (Series 5) For Series 5, a new model of Kronic the Wedgehog was built, known as Kronic 2. This version was much larger and heavier than the original, with a low angled wedge-shaped chassis, and two flippers; a front flipper similar to that of Prizephita Mach 2 and the top-mounted one being a side flipper similar to the weapon of Lightning. The side flipper was slightly faster and more powerful than the front one, and was designed to act as the robot's srimech. Kronic 2 was the first to feature a set of flammable foam spikes on top of the wedge, which had red tips to give the appearance of being bloodstained. The robot was armoured in aluminium and steel, with the team using aluminium from a chocolate bar wrapper to protect Kronic 2's receiver. Kronic 2 (Series 6) Kronic 2 in Series 6 also had a stronger shell, but had no base panel, as the team removed it during the qualifiers due to the robot being overweight. Kronic the Wedgehog (Series 7) For Series 7, the team reverted back to the original name for a revised version of Kronic 2. This version of Kronic the Wedgehog retained the two flippers used by Kronic 2, which were upgraded to be faster and more powerful, as well as the foam spikes. While largely similar in design to Kronic 2, the Series 7 version had no wheel guards, although it was now fitted with a mesh bottom to protect the internals from underneath. Qualification Despite Kronic first appearing in Series 4, the original version of the robot (simply named Kronic) was built for Series 3, a barrel shaped robot armed with a retracting spear. However, it wasn't very well built and failed to qualify. In its Series 4 qualifier, Kronic the Wedgehog fought S.M.I.D.S.Y., and won. S.M.I.D.S.Y. still qualified anyway. To qualify for Series 5, Kronic 2 fought yet another Heat Finalist from the Fourth Wars, Mini Morg. Kronic 2 won the battle and qualified for the series, yet curiously, Mini Morg was awarded the nineteenth seed. Kronic qualified for Series 6 and 7, though how it qualified each time is unknown. Robot History Series 4 Newcomers Kronic the Wedgehog met two veterans in the first round of the Fourth Wars; Thermidor 2 and the number 13 seeds Gravedigger. Before the fight, the Gravedigger team conceded that their flipper wasn't working. Thermidor 2 and Kronic the Wedgehog met in the centre of the arena and both fired their flippers simultaneously, with Kronic the Wedgehog gaining enough purchase to lift Thermidor 2 up by one of its claws. Gravedigger ran its wedge underneath Kronic the Wedgehog, but only managed to push it a little before reversing away. Kronic the Wedgehog was then able to shove Thermidor 2 towards the arena wall near Shunt's CPZ, helped by Gravedigger ramming it from behind. Thermidor 2 spun away and tried to flip Kronic the Wedgehog again, but its large claws got in the way. After a little bit of avoiding each other, Kronic the Wedgehog stopped on top of the pit of oblivion, which had dropped slightly. A combined attack from Thermidor 2 and Gravedigger moved Kronic the Wedgehog off the pit which hadn't descended any further. The robots met in the centre of the arena again and Kronic the Wedghog was almost flipped onto its side by Thermidor 2 but survived. Kronic the Wedgehog then shoved Thermidor 2 into the arena wall again and buckled the right claw. Following this, Kronic the Wedgehog lifted the front of Gravedigger onto the arena side wall before it was flipped over by Thermidor 2. Sir Killalot moved in and picked Gravedigger up, spinning it around and throwing it across the arena, where it landed on its wheels. Gravedigger then proceeded to race towards Thermidor 2 and Kronic the Wedgehog who were still battling next to Matilda. Cease was called and the seeded Gravedigger was eliminated. In the second round, Kronic the Wedgehog fought Darke Destroyer 2, a Heat Finalist in the last war. The two robots began the battle circling each other, with Darke Destroyer 2 barging into Kronic the Wedgehog head on. Kronic the Wedgehog responded by lifting Darke Destroyer 2 up, but not over. Darke Destroyer 2 then shoved Kronic the Wedgehog across the arena floor and began to use its 'waggling blades', but they were no use. Kronic the Wedgehog eventually spun away from Darke Destroyer 2 and was able to immediately place its flipper underneath Darke Destroyer 2, toppling it over. It was unable to self-right, so the House Robots closed in for the kill, putting it on the flipper, then pitting it. Kronic the Wedgehog was through to the Heat Final, where it fought Thermidor 2 again. Before the fight, the Thermidor 2 team were concerned that its flipper wouldn't work. Its claws had also broken, and it was being put back together just beforehand. Both robots started cautiously, ambling around each other, before Kronic the Wedgehog tried an attack with its flipper but missed. Kronic the Wedgehog fired its flipper again, with Thermidor 2 showing that their flipper was working as well by flicking Kronic the Wedgehog up. Kronic the Wedgehog then lifted Thermidor 2 up by one of its claws, before Thermidor 2 fired its weapon, which penetrated Kronic the Wedgehog's flipper, causing both robots to be momentarily locked together. Kronic lifted Thermidor up by one of its claws, but only pushed it a little before it dropped off. Kronic the Wedgehog lifted Thermidor 2 again and pushed it into Shunt's CPZ. Thermidor 2 escaped and responded by charging at Kronic the Wedgehog, which caused its flipper to come off, which meant that Kronic the Wedgehog was now weaponless and exposed. Kronic the Wedgehog managed to force Thermidor 2 around the arena for a short period, before Thermidor 2 came back onto the attack and flipped it up, but not over. Kronic the Wedgehog then seemed to lose power on one side. The House Robots closed in, with Dead Metal slicing into its side and Shunt axing down. Dead Metal then left Kronic the Wedgehog precariously balanced over the pit, before Sir Killalot nudged the beaten robot down. Series 5 Kronic 2 went up against the greatly experienced King B Powerworks in its first round eliminator battle. Kronic 2 showed good aggression early on in this battle, but the flipper wasn't as powerful as in future appearances, and Kronic 2 couldn't flip King B Powerworks fully over in its attempts. King B Powerworks then took control of the bout by pushing the more sluggish Kronic 2 machine around the arena, bending the flipper and putting holes in the outer shell. Kronic 2's foam spikes caught fire as the two went over the flame pit, and King B Powerworks's rear spinning blade did even more damage to the outer shell. Cease was soon called, and the result was almost obvious, with the judges' vote going in favour of King B Powerworks, eliminating Kronic 2 from the competition. Series 6 Kronic 2 was placed up against the redesigned R.O.C.S., the 8th seeds Panic Attack and recent heat-finalist Corkscrew in its first round battle of the Heat. In this battle, Kronic 2 was immediately targeted by R.O.C.S., which pierced into its flipper, in combination with a lift from Panic Attack. However, a glancing blow from Corkscrew separated the pair, also ripping up a wheel guard of Kronic 2 and also making its srimech break. However, this did leave Kronic 2 free to activate the pit release button, which ultimately caused the demise of Corkscrew. After this, Kronic 2 sustained more damage from R.O.C.S.' claw, but then flipped R.O.C.S. onto its back, rendering it immobilised as it was leaking hydraulic fluid. Victorious, Kronic 2 then flipped Panic Attack, which no longer had a srimech, and was immobilised. However both of them moved through as R.O.C.S. was soon counted out by Refbot, and Kronic 2 assisted Sir Killalot with pitting R.O.C.S. In the second round, Kronic 2 went up against the much more experienced Terrorhurtz machine. Kronic started the fight aggressively, charging at Terrorhurtz, but its flipper could not breach the ground clearance of Terrorhurtz. Kronic 2 was axed by the future grand finalist repeatedly. Terrorhurtz, having now lost power to its axe, pushed the more sluggish Kronic 2 machine to Sergeant Bash's CPZ, however it managed to escape before it took any major damage from the house robot. As Kronic 2 began to get away, Terrorhurtz then pushed Kronic 2 around to the side of the arena, into an angle grinder, and onto the flame pit. Growler then closed in as Kronic 2 was merely limping, but Kronic 2 attacked the house robots, using its top flipper to lift up Growler, before it stopped moving completely and was counted out by Refbot. It was then attacked by Growler before cease was called. Series 7 Kronic the Wedgehog was placed up against Team Victor's The Kraken, and two newcomers: Pinser and Cobra, in the first round melee. Cobra posed no challenge as it barely moved, Kronic the Wedgehog flipped it right over in the opening moments, before flipping it back the right way up. However, Pinser then leaped onto the attack, piercing through Kronic the Wedgehog's flipper. Fortunately for Kronic though, Pinser then attacked the limping Cobra machine, but burnt out as it went over a flame jet, effectively immobilising both robots as Cobra was still caught in Pinser's grip. Both robots were counted out by Refbot, and Kronic the Wedgehog went through to the next round with The Kraken. Kronic the Wedgehog then faced a seemingly easy battle in Robot Wars veterans Mighty Mouse, in the second round. Kronic the Wedgehog indeed began strongly, hurling Mighty Mouse across the arena with the flipper effortlessly, almost flipping Mighty Mouse out of the arena on one occasion. However, Kronic the Wedgehog suddenly seized up just outside house robot Growler's CPZ and Mighty Mouse then took the opportunity to ram it fully into the CPZ, where Kronic the Wedgehog's flipper crumpled against the arena side wall by Growler. Mighty Mouse continued to ram Kronic the Wedgehog, ramming it into submission, rendering them completely immobilised, leaving it to be counted out by the Refbot, therefore leaving Mighty Mouse as the unlikely victors, and eliminating Kronic the Wedgehog from the competition. Results |} |} |} Kronic_pits.jpg|Kronic the Wedgehog with the team in the pits. Kronic_garage.jpg|Kronic the Wedgehog in Dave Lang's garage Kronic2nodecoration.jpg|Kronic 2 on display without decorative panels Wins/Losses *Wins: 4 *Losses: 4 Series Record Outside Robot Wars File:KronicNoShell.png|Kronic 2 without its armour at a live event Kronic the Wedgehog 2.jpg|Kronic 3, Kronic the Wedgehog today Weed.png|Weed, Team Kronic's featherweight Apollo and Chronic.jpg|Comparison of Kronic and Apollo Kronic has become far more successful in recent years. Competing in the live circuits, and being renamed Kronic 3, its flipper was modified to be the length of the entire front wedge, and is now capable of throwing robots from the arena at height, doing so to other famous competitors such as Behemoth, Big Nipper and Iron-Awe. It won the Roaming Robots Winter Tour of 2005. In May 2010, the robot was sold to Team MAD as Team Kronic retired from building and operating heavyweight robots. Under their new team, Kronic became the 2010 and 2011 Annihilator Champion, which enabled it to become the second machine in history to reclaim the UK Annihilator title after Kan-Opener. Kronic's final appearance was at the 2014 FRA UK Championships, where it reached the quarter-finals; after this, it was retired from robot combat, and succeeded by Apollo in future Robots Live! events. Following its retirement, Kronic was rebuilt by Team Mad as Chronic for ABC's BattleBots reboot. Changes from the original robot included a 'launcher' that was powered by nitrogen instead of CO2 in accordance with the new rules, as well as more armour. Chronic was selected as a reserve, but was not needed to replace any competitors. As a test for the production crew, Chronic fought and lost to fellow reserve robot Swamp Thing in the very first fight in the new BattleBox. Although it started off well, getting some good flips in and breaking off Swamp Thing's thwacking tail, Chronic's drive failed towards the end and it was counted out. Chronic was also due to compete in a nine-robot rumble at the end of the series, but due to time restraints in filming, it never took place. Robot Wars Live Events The latest version of Kronic 3 made two appearances at the Robot Wars live events. Its first appearance was at Barnsley in February 2013 where it reached the final of the main competition losing to Maelstrom when it was immobilised unable to self-right in the last 10 seconds of the fight. Its second Robot Wars live event was at Widnes 2013 where it got to the semi-final of the competition and was beaten by Maelstrom again. Trivia *Like Wedgehog, Kronic the Wedgehog's name was based on Hedgehog (although Kronic's name was based on the Sonic the Hedgehog games). Coincidentally, both the former and the latter are currently owned by Team MAD. **Although the two robots were originally from separate teams, they are mistakenly credited as being from the same team in Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide. ***Kronic would not be the last robot to derive its name from Sonic the Hedgehog, as 2016 competitor Foxic would also base its name on the series. *Throughout its appearances, a banner saying "I Heart Beer" was on the back of Kronic, this being a pun on the team's home village and the alcoholic beverage. *In March 2012, Kronic broke Gravity's Robot Wars record for the quickest battle in all FRA competitions by throwing Iron-Awe 6 out of the arena in 4 seconds. *In 2011, Kronic received an Honorable Mention in The Combat Robot Hall of Fame, as a result of its successes in live events held during Robot Wars' hiatus.http://runamok.tech/hall_of_fame.html References Category:UK Series competitors Category:Robots from Devon Category:Robots with alternate versions Category:Robots Profiled in the Ultimate Guide Category:Robots with puns for names Category:Honourable Mentions in The Combat Robot Hall of Fame Category:UK Champions since Robot Wars Category:Competitors in Robot Wars Live Events Category:Robots to defeat a seed Category:Robots to appear in Battle Cards Pack 1 Category:Robots with names based on film and television Category:UK Heat Finalists Category:Robots which outlasted three others in a 4-way melee Category:Animal Based Robots Category:Robots with an equal amount of Wins and Losses Category:UK Annihilator winners since Robot Wars Category:UK Tag Team winners since Robot Wars Category:Robots with names based on video games Category:Robots with Rear-hinged Flippers Category:Robots with Front-hinged Flippers Category:Robots which debuted in Series 4